Thermostatic mixing valve



Feb. 17, 1953 v F J, CANTALUPO 2,628,781

THERMOSTATIC MIXING 'VALVE Filed April 22. 1949 Patented Feb. 17, A1953 .'Francisfjl. (laut zilxllmi yCiliicagoi rassignnrrtbg. Cameco., Chicagm Ill., a cnrporationrofxlllinois.:

.Anpucaiinnnpnl 2.2, i949, semina, 33,1031, 1 claim; (c1: cse- 1121 t .combination therewith .for `taking care; of' what is termed the overrun of the thermostatic `elef ment employed in connection with such devices.-

At the-outset, :in-.ordertaobtain a lbetter ap pi-eeiationlof the .need and. background of this invention, :it .should .be understood that.inther ,mostatically controlled mixinglvalves for .auto-,- matic washing machinespositivemeans should be provided improperly fhandlingthe Voverrnnnf the .thermalelement .inetheeventof a,fai1'ure.in

kind described in .my (Jo-pending patent' application, serial No. 71,917, nica January 21, 19:49, now abandoned, A.that when a `'failure has occurred in .the cold watersupply line connected .to a mixing. valveof the .typereferredltmthere- .sultingsurge .of .hot Water will createa condi- ',tion iniwhich the, valve may .be ,closcdtight .1n

which case.r ,sin-overrun. prevention' nronision Eis hardly neccssary,A `Blut,,infnriany instancesidne A to.; the. tact thatthe thermally actuated. valve Y closure. member does not iseat; absolutelyA tight.;- hot water may continue..V tozleak `past thevalyen means vKnot shown), the mired liquidflows'into gaat; and thereby `p1,aceftl'ie, thermal element' unf- ,i

der exceedingly high strains, resulting in brealrflF age of the thermal kelellneilt or one of itsv corelated operating parts; such as the shaft, for example` Thus, it iis`4 another object `of this invention to provide for a structured-ri which such damage or ,breakagecannot occur .and in which the Valve and thermal overrun preventer may be made relatively shortnandcompact insofar'as desired.

ing 'thefannular -zspacedapart "chambers: '1,21' and 3, respectively;v with-hot and-"cold Water. "Theffinner annular limitszoffthe vchambers 2 'and 3-`-are defined, as indcatedat '4- and, respectively, 'zby the surfaces forming the respective end peripheries ofithe closure member herei naftcr ydescribed in, greater detail.. Thus, depending upon 'thejpos'itionV of the valve closure..'merrib'en,the 'mixed water .discharges from the chamber or passageV 6,. The latter passage ,is comxnn-nicat'ion .with the annular body chamber; J oon'taining.A :the thermal` actuating- 1unitB,ivhich. unit. issup- .ported-'by .the .internally threaded coll-ar -9 lheld "in soldered 4posi-'tion within- -the body. I.-as;iin ydicated. Pre f'era'bjlyy` `it 'is' .flocked thereto by :means of the collar gasket.. I.2y 'andthe fenclosing `cap I3 to provide lfor accessibility in= :making necessary :adjustments rin .laxially'positioningr'fthe thermal unit. shaft II', .'Ihe. thermal uniti surrounds van end andsubstantial'lengthpor-tion =of the vshaft II, as at -If4, 1in la frictional grip, theunit containingl at Ilisuc'h thermally respon sive liquid as a `poly-mer huid,` which has been found to be desirablysensitive to changes in lthe tempera-'ture Aof the entering mixedliquid-*received from the respective hot vand cold water chambers 2 and Y-3 `and thence into the chamber From the discharge passage andE 'by valved the opening M and ythence, throughv the ontletl into thek washing machine `or 'theliker Asepa.- rate.,cutlet. H. .or hot... wa may; .be-provided; if

.Atthenpper endiof'the rma'l'nnit, .anguille .shaft .I-.v isfarransed, 'being ftlireadedlyy connected thereto as, shown; :and` in' duid sealing. relation .by-means of the gasket u.. Entire .top fend, Athe guide'. shaft I6 held 'in shouldered relation.. I.to the. pistonftype -valyeiiclosure kmember 1;8- :by .means of thespliiz: Washer` 410,' fthesaldi latter `guide: .shaft thereby being? ciprocablyA movable predeterminedly r-upward' relative -to the# member t8 in response to theaxijal morvemen'tinitiated by the thermal unit'whenzrespondlng to tempera'ture changes.. In itslowermost pcsitiomthe piston closure 4member l-fseats. las at .19t 1n the opposite direction, ,under `the :maximum-expanded `condition v:of `the uni-'t-y 8, :thel'zclosure member :will seat on the surface 2I of the cap 22. The latter member 22 is retained in I luid tight relation to the body I by means of the'cap screws 23. The piston is preferably maintained in ud sealing relation to the bore 24 of the body or casing I.

by means of the sealing -ring 25 mounted in an annular chamber as indicated.

An important contribution relative to my invention lies in the employment of resilient means preferably interposed between the outer surface 26 of the thermal unit 8. The resilient means for illustrative purposes, takes the form of a conical coiled spring 2l which at its larger end is shoulderedl against the annular surface 28 of the apertured bridge 29 of the piston closure member I8. At the opposite side of the apertured bridge 29, which is provided with the annularly arranged passages 3l, a lighter weight coiled spring 32 is mounted. After the thermal unit 8 with the spring 21 in place around the shaft l has been positioned in piston-like closure member IS, the spring 21 is then compressed until the groove on shaft I6 protrudes suiciently above the bridge Wall to attach the retaining split washer li?. The

groove or shaft i6 is located to obtain adequate loading, preferably so as not to deiiect the latter spring member 2l bearing against the piston closure I8 to move the said closure against the smaller opposed load provided by the coiled spring 32.

Thus, it will be apparent that the piston closure member I8, the complete thermal unit parts 2, II, I6, the conical spring 2'?, and the retaining A split washer IB constitute a separatesub--assembly,v which sub-assembly is inserta-,ble into valve body I and the piston spring 3?. and the cap 22 are then placed in position. The desired mixed water temperatures are obtained by the use of adjusting screw rotating the latter member clockwise reduces the gap between the separate thermal unit shaft il and the screw 32, thus allowing the piston closure member I8 to bemore readily actuated. This arrangement results in a lower temperature of the mixed water, since the sooner the closure member is actuated so much more quickly is cold water added, and thereby further lowering the mixed-water temperature. A greater volume of hot water is assured by turning adjusting screw 30 counterclockwise, a larger gap being created between thepshaft I I and the screw 32. Thus, the

temperature of the mixed water normally ad- .mitted would be higher before actuation of the closure member I8 takes place. Thus, it will be clear that if an overrun of the thermal unit 8 occurs for any reason, the spring 2l will be 'compressed further to provide for the overrun, 'theupper end of the shaft IS and the Awasher l@ then moving'upwardly into the space `deiined by thecoiled spring 32. In summary, if a cold water failure occurs or the hot water cannot be shut oiffwithin the valve, the shaft IS will be moved axially upwardly and the piston-type closure IB will be-mo'ved against the'annular seat 2l. Due

`to the advantages gained by employing the oon- .4 ting end relation against the adjusting screw 30, the thermal unit may continue to expand, and thus force the overrun spring 21 to be compressed thereby permitting the shaft to move as far as necessary to allow for the added expansion of the unit.

Heretofore, in constructions of this type, the shaft IS has been badly bent and damaged under conditions of an overrun, 4and this objection has also applied to the thermal unit shaft Il. In the novel construction of this invention, however, such breakage cannot occur, with the result l that injury from escaping hot water i-s substanti'ally avoided. The thermal unit is therefore fully protected together with the operating parts; such as the pistons and the respective upper and lower shafts.

It should, ofcourse, be clear that the detailed manner-of providing for such overrun between the thermal unit and the piston may be obtained by the employment of other forms of resilient members, `so that the particular structure illustrated is only for the purpose of showing a preferred embodiment. The scope of the invention, therefore, should be measured by the appended claim. v

In means for providing for the overrun of an 'axially expandible thermal element in a mixing "valve or the like, the combination comprising a valve casing, a thermal element Within the cas- .ing, a reciprooally movable piston-like closure 4member cooperating'with the said thermal element and having o-ppositely disposed end seating lthermal element relative to the said reciprocally movable member, and stop means on the said shaft bearing against a shoulder on the apertured-bridge portion to limit the axial movement thereof inone .direction relative to the said closure member, 'the other of said resiliently mounted means limiting the axial movement of the said closure member in the opposite direction relative to the said shaft.

' FRANCIS J. CANTALUPO.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Y Name Number Date 1,195,722 Powers et al. Aug. 22, 1916 1,434,542 Horne Nov. 7, 1922 2,045,289 Bolin June 23, 1936 2,061,915 Mavtsch Nov. 24, 1936 2,369,242 Lawler Feb. 13, 1945 

